Chapter 79: Opening of a school, earthquake in the capital
After sending the imperial physician away, Xiu Yu was actually a bit bewildered. Honestly, her relationship with the emperor hadn't been particularly good lately, perhaps because of her suggestion that the Han Chinese should learn Western culture together. After countless introspections, she came to realize that her idea had been somewhat awful. This was the Qing Dynasty, a feudal, absolute monarchy, a hereditary empire! The emperor was preoccupied with consolidating his throne, strengthening his rule, and forcing the foreigners to submit...
But things are so magical and coincidental that when she thought her relationship with Xuanye was cooling down, God sent another child.
Xiao Tao waved his round fan at Xiu Yu while comforting his master: "I think this is God's will and a good thing. You should just let it go."
Xiu Yu touched her belly and sighed, "Now that the baby is here, I can only let nature take its course. But, how could this happen..."
"Of course not!" Xiao Tao laughed and said, "Since the Emperor has come, then it's possible. Besides, Liang Jiugong told me that compared to other Empresses, the Emperor comes to our Yikun Palace the most."
Xiu Yu rolled her eyes at Xiao Tao and said, "You've probably been in this harem for too long and have completely forgotten your past."
"There's nothing I can do." Xiao Tao was also somewhat helpless: "People in this world are constantly changing. You have to follow the rules of the place where you live. Unless one day you no longer live here, then there is no need to follow them."
"You're right." Xiu Yu smiled helplessly. "Perhaps things have been going too smoothly for me lately. I should be more restrained in the future. The Emperor is still the Emperor after all. I can't just say whatever I want when I'm by his side."
"Did I scare you?" As soon as Xiu Yu finished speaking, Xuanye walked into the warm room and waved away all the servants.
Xiu Yu stood up and greeted Xuanye, saying with a smile, "Your Majesty, what are you talking about?"
"I just heard someone say that you can't speak freely around me." Xuanye embellished Xiu Yu's words: "It's only been a short while, and you're not admitting it?"
"I'm not denying it." Xiu Yu lowered his head slightly and whispered, "You came at this hour, do you know?"
"What do you know?" Xuanye played dumb. "I'm not the director of the Imperial Observatory. I don't have the ability to tell fortunes."
Xiu Yu snorted lightly: "Pretending."
"Haha!" Xuanye had to admit that before issuing the imperial edict, he had indeed ignored Xiu Yu for a while, simply because he hadn't figured out some things. But once the edict was written, everything became clear, and he deeply agreed with Xiu Yu's statement. "Today, I have decided to open an imperial school. Regardless of Manchu or Han, anyone interested in Western learning can attend. So, can you stop being angry with me?"
"I'm not angry at all." Xiu Yu was somewhat surprised by Xuanye's behavior. "But, if you issue this imperial decree, will our ancestors agree? Will the ministers of the previous dynasty agree?"
"Whether you agree or not, I've already made my decision." Xuanye helped Xiu Yu sit down and continued, "It's true that the Imperial Madam came to see me just now, and the ministers of the previous dynasty did go to see her to reason with her. But I am the Emperor, and an imperial decree, even if it's wrong, is right. The Imperial Madam was tricked by me and had no choice but to agree. Yu'er, I should thank you for enlightening me. If I hadn't been struggling these days, I'm afraid I would still be thinking about the art of being an emperor."
Xiu Yu smiled and said, "Well, this idea was mine. Your Majesty wouldn't mind if I got involved?"
"Of course you can get involved, but not now." Xuanye said with a stern face: "First, stay in the palace and take care of your pregnancy. When the little prince is born safely, if you want to get involved, I will let you do so."
Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. Although Xuanye's imperial edict was issued and many people responded to it, it did offend a number of high-ranking officials of the previous dynasty. In particular, the major earthquake in the capital in July gave the ministers of the previous dynasty a reason to criticize him, saying that the disaster was caused by the emperor's inappropriate edict.
In the Qianqing Palace, Mingzhu and Soetu, two of the current dynasty's leading figures, were standing in front of Xuanye, scratching their heads.
Xuanye's face was not good, or to be more precise, it was very dark: "For disaster relief, I will pay 100,000 taels from the treasury."
Mingzhu and Suo'etu looked at each other, and it was Suo'etu, the emperor's uncle, who took the initiative and said, "I am willing to donate a year's salary to help with the disaster relief."
Mingzhu immediately said, "I will also pay one year's salary."
Xuanye murmured, "Let's wait a year. Only when the people live well can you enjoy a good life." Then, changing the subject, he held the red brush in his hand, looked up at Mingzhu and Suo'etu, and asked, "I heard that you still have objections to the Imperial Academy? You say that the earthquake in the capital was caused by my mistake in issuing the decree? Is this true?"
"This..." Soetu looked at Mingzhu. He was a military general and not good at speaking. At such times, Mingzhu usually took the lead.
Mingzhu glanced at Suo'etu and said with a bow, "The ministers of the previous dynasty knew very little about Western learning. Once the students in the academy have graduated, no one will dare to raise any objections."
Xuanye snorted and said, "Mingzhu, do you really think what you say?"
Mingzhu immediately knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, everything I have is given by Your Majesty. I will follow Your Majesty's lead! If anyone dares to criticize Your Majesty, I will be the first to beat him!"
Seeing Mingzhu's loyalty and swearing, Suo Etu immediately knelt down and said, "I, your servant, will also be the vanguard to shut up those ignorant servants!"
Xuanye was satisfied with Mingzhu and Suo'etu's reactions, so he said, "You two should discuss the matter of disaster relief. The two prime ministers have already paid their salaries and set a good example, so why don't they follow suit?"
"Follow! They must follow!" Soetu first made a wish on behalf of the ministers of the previous dynasty: "The emperor has already offered 100,000 taels. If they don't follow, they probably don't want the hats on their heads anymore."
After finally dealing with their master, Soetu and Mingzhu breathed a sigh of relief after leaving the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Mingzhu walked in a square step and said to Suo Etu, "Prime Minister Suo, will you pay for their silver?"
"I should?" Suo Etu glanced at Mingzhu and said, "The Emperor is bleeding, and they're not bleeding? If they don't bleed, then Prime Minister Ming will beat them up!"
Mingzhu sighed, "A bunch of fools dared to poke the master in the heart. How can the master calm down if he doesn't bleed a little? The master has already bled a lot, and they still don't bleed. Do you still want to be crowned?"
"Go and raise some money." Suo Etu wiped the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief and asked Mingzhu, "How many people did you get into the master's school?"
Mingzhu patted Suo'etu's shoulder and lowered her voice, saying, "He just put my son in. Others don't have that ability."
"Your son?" Suo Etu was a little surprised. "Your son looks so frail, how can he learn Western knowledge?"
"Who are you looking down on?" Mingzhu couldn't stand hearing people say bad things about his son. Soetu couldn't stand it either: "My son was personally selected by the master to attend the academy. The master is wise!"
"Master, you are wise, Master, you are wise!" Soetu naturally knew that he couldn't use Nalan Xingde's affairs to provoke Mingzhu, the crazy old man. "Your son is indeed smart, but unfortunately he is a little weak. I will introduce you to some good doctors to your house to see your son."
Mingzhu's pride came up, and she bowed and said, "Thank you, but it's not necessary!"
In the Qianqing Palace, Xuanye personally calculated the disaster relief silver. He still trusted the appeal of Soetu and Mingzhu in the previous dynasty. He breathed a sigh of relief only after he had barely managed to collect the amount of disaster relief silver he had planned.
But then again, those old ministers of the previous dynasty really irritated him. The celestial phenomena were indeed linked to the monarch's ability to govern. Not long after his academy opened, an earthquake struck the capital. It was really a headache for him.
If you feel depressed, your body will definitely feel unwell. At night, he held Xiu Yu's hand and said, "Yu'er, I seem to have a fever."
Xiu Yu knew Xuan Ye had been in a bad mood recently. She had sensed something was amiss with him when he came tonight, so she'd been more alert at night. "Send the imperial physician?"
Xuanye responded softly, but he still held Xiuyu's hand like a child: "Let Liang Jiugong pass on the message, and you stay with me."
"Okay." Xiu Yu responded softly and patted Xuanye's hand: "You have to let me wash your handkerchief and cool you down physically."
After Xuanye released her hand, he kept looking at Xiuyu and said gloomily, "Tell me, am I not a good emperor?"
"Why do you say that so suddenly?" Xiu Yu ordered Liang Jiugong to summon the imperial physician, then washed a handkerchief and placed it on Xuanye's forehead before sitting down beside him. "Earthquakes are nature's test of humanity, and also of you. They have nothing to do with whether you are a good emperor or not."
"Is it irrelevant?" Xuanye shuddered and curled up. "It's right for me to open a school, right?"
The crux of the matter ultimately lies here. Xiu Yu sighed, "If there's anything wrong, then the warning from Heaven should be on me. Besides, I assure you that the school was right to open."
"I believe it's right." Xuanye held Xiu Yu's hand tightly. "Those old men of the previous dynasty were so pedantic that they actually linked the earthquake and the opening of the school together. I will make them bleed a little to provide relief to the people, and then they can stop gossiping!"
Xiu Yu poured water for Xuanye and fed him mouthful by mouthful with a spoon: "I heard about it. Didn't you bleed too?"
"It must be my servant who told your servant again." Xuanye was a little weak due to the fever, and he closed his eyes to calm down. "Some money must be spent. If you don't spend it now, God will probably make you pay a greater price."
Xiu Yu responded softly, but she was getting anxious. Having a fever at night was no small matter. She couldn't help but ask, "Why is Liang Jiugong so slow? Why hasn't the imperial physician come yet?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
